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#QUEEN OF KATWE PHIONA MOVIE#
He was lucky in that his boss at Disney, Sean Bailey, let him spend money on the film without a formal greenlight and without much interference, but Nagenda knew he had to really have the goods if he wanted to get the movie made. He brought on Nair, who in turn recruited her Reluctant Fundamentalist screenwriter William Wheeler to punch up the script. I used all of the equity I had built at that moment to put forward this movie.ĭisney executive vice president of production Tendo Nagendaīut all the while he worked on Katwe. They just, like their protagonist’s signature move, had to be smart and aggressive. And they were going to get Disney-the home of Star Wars and Marvel and animated movies about lost fish-to make it. That day, in the bamboo grove of her garden, the two made a pact: They were going to make a movie about Phiona Mutesi, a chess champion from the Kampala slum of Katwe. “And I was like, ‘Oh, I’m with my family, do you want to meet tomorrow?’ She’s like, ‘No, just bring ‘em!’” “I called her from the street somewhere she said ‘Oh, I’m at home, why don’t you come up?’” Nagenda remembers. She didn’t mind she invited him over for tea. Mira Nair didn’t really know Nagenda, but he happened to be visiting family in her backyard in the Ugandan city of Kampala, so he called her out of the blue. It was winter 2013 the Disney exec had spent months quietly developing a movie about a young girl in Uganda who became an international chess star, and now he knew who he wanted to direct it. Her mother eventually realizes that Phiona has a chance to excel and teams up with Katende to help her fulfill her extraordinary potential, escape a life of poverty and save her family.Tendo Nagenda finally had a plan. She quickly advances through the ranks in tournaments, but breaks away from her family to focus on her own life. As Phiona begins to succeed in local chess competitions, Katende teaches her to read and write in order to pursue schooling.
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Recognizing Phiona’s natural aptitude for chess and the fighting spirit she’s inherited from her mother, Katende begins to mentor her, but Harriet is reluctant to provide any encouragement, not wanting to see her daughter disappointed.
Phiona is impressed by the intelligence and wit the game requires and immediately shows potential. Chess requires a good deal of concentration, strategic thinking and risk taking, all skills which are applicable in everyday life, and Katende hopes to empower youth with the game. When Phiona meets Robert Katende (Oyelowo), a soccer player turned missionary who teaches local children chess, she is captivated. Her mother, Harriet (Nyong’o), is fiercely determined to take care of her family and works tirelessly selling vegetables in the market to make sure her children are fed and have a roof over their heads. For 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi (Nalwanga) and her family, life in the impoverished slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle.